USF happy for drama-free finish to 2018 recruiting class

By Greg Auman

Published: February 7, 2018

USF football coach Charlie Strong said he was pleased with his 2018 recruiting class, with all but two players signed in December.(GREG AUMAN -- TIMES)

USF football coach Charlie Strong said he slept well Tuesday night, knowing that unlike most of his previous National Signing Days as a head coach, there would be little drama to worry about Wednesday morning.

The hay was very much in the barn on USF's 2018 recruiting class, with 24 players signing in December and six already on campus as early enrollees. Only two more joined them Wednesday — DTs John Waller (St. Petersburg Admiral Farragut) and Tyrone Barber (Venice) — with a scholarship or two reserved in case a compelling transfer pops up this summer.

"We're really happy with the class that we signed," Strong said. "We're really comfortable, and we're looking to build the program and move the program forward. When you get good players in your program with good grades, and they understand what you're trying to do and the vision we have in place for them, then things will happen moving forward."

USF's class is ranked second in the American Athletic Conference behind Cincinnati, ranking 56th nationally by Rivals and 61st by 247sports.

Strong said he had no expectations of any other recruits signing with the Bulls on Wednesday — in the final weeks he would have spent in past years securing this class, he was able to get a head start on his 2019 recruiting.

He laid out all the places he visited in January, from Atlanta to Pensacola to Tallahassee to Jacksonville to Miami to Fort Lauderdale to West Palm Beach to the west coast of Florida and central Florida before covering local Tampa-area schools and Gainesville.

"I was in a lot of schools," Strong said. "I told the coaching staff: Y'all better take you a snack. We're not stopping for lunch. We've got to get to as many schools as we can.' … It's more going in and shaking hands, making sure we put our name in that school."